The Forgotten Road
by Asami Black
Summary: Where did Sarah get that book in the first place. . .?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody but Tabitha.

A/N: I'm a little shy about this one, but please review! Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Chapter 1: Letting Go

A rapid knocking on the front door shattered the Saturday morning quiet, sending a startled spasm through Tabitha as she slept. Her fingers dug suddenly into the pillow case and clenched. The knocking came again and Tabitha opened her eyes, lifting her head in search of the bedside clock. Eight o'clock. Not exactly too early, but this was her first chance to sleep late in over a week! Again the rapid knocking rained down on the front door, and this time it didn't seem to want to stop.

"_Somebody's_ stubborn." She growled, flinging her legs over the side of the bed and stumbling to her feet. She was halfway down the hall before she realized she was lacking pants. The knocking continued, unceasing.

"_IN A MINUTE!"_ She bellowed, rounding back to her bedroom to get dressed. Abruptly the pounding stopped, and a refreshing silence filled the air. Tabitha let out a deep breath and pulled her pajama pants on quickly, hopping back down the hall on one foot while sticking the other down a pant-leg. Her foot caught midway down the leg and she stumbled, crashing heavily onto the carpeted floor.

"Aunt Tabitha?" Came a muffled, uncertain-sounding voice from the front of the house. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." She rolled onto her rear and pulled the pants up. "Just give me a minute, Sarah."

"Okay. . ."

In a moment she was back on her feet and unlocking the door. She cracked it open and peeked out into the bright morning sunlight to see her step-niece standing on the porch. Sarah tilted her head a little to peer at Tabitha, eyebrows raised questioningly. With a resigned sigh Tabitha opened the door all the way and gestured for her to come in.

"What brings you here so early on a Saturday, Sarah? Don't you usually sleep in?"

"Not really," Sarah replied, stepping quickly into the little house and closing the door behind her. "I can't help but wake up at seven anymore, and by then the baby's usually up and making noise. I just can't go back to sleep."

"Summer will cure you of that," Tabitha remarked around a yawn. "Just in time for you to go back to school."

"Yeah, that's usually how it works." Sarah laughed as she moved into the kitchen. Tabitha paused, suddenly looking at Sarah more closely. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something different about the girl this morning. Sarah had set something down on the kitchen table and was proceeding to open the blinds.

"What are you doing?" Tabitha asked distractedly, her attention on the box Sarah had left on the table. "You're ruining my experiment."

"What experiment?" Sarah paused, her hand still gripping the wand that tilted the blinds over the kitchen sink.

"I'm trying to see how long I can go without sunlight before I turn into a vampire." She quipped, looking curiously at the box.

"I can tell you've been successful by your tan." Sarah responded drily, following her aunt's eyes to the box. "That's what I came to see you about." She said, dropping the wand and coming over.

"It's a shoe box." Tabitha said simply. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah. Can I leave this with you for awhile?" Sarah fingered the top of the box softly.

"What's in it?" Tabitha stepped around Sarah and opened the fridge in search of breakfast foods.

"Just a few things. A few things I should put behind me. I mean, I'm not a kid anymore." Sarah stated firmly. Tabitha peered over the fridge door at her niece, but the girl was avoiding her gaze.

"Stuffed animals and security blankets?" She asked, pointedly.

"Something like that. Here, let me help you with breakfast. I mean, it's the least I can do for waking you up."

"Hmm. If you want to, sure." Tabitha stepped back and let Sarah rifle through her refrigerator, her eyes sliding back to the shoe box.

"You drove all the way out here on a Saturday morning to give me your shoe box? It's a forty-five minute drive, Sarah."

"_I_ _know_," Sarah cried defensively, her shoulders hunching a bit. "Is it a crime to want to see my favorite aunt?"

"Hmm." Tabitha's eyes narrowed slightly. "Flattery will get you nowhere, kiddo."

"Oh, honestly!" Sarah exclaimed, setting the milk carton down on the counter a bit harder than necessary. "You are such a stiff old woman! You know I like visiting you, so don't pretend I don't! You are such a suspicious old crab first thing in the morning."

Tabitha spluttered in outrage for a moment. "Old? I'm twenty-five!"

"Well," Sarah grinned suddenly and leaned toward her aunt. "Then act your age!"

"Ooooh!" Tabitha huffed, throwing herself down in a kitchen chair. There was a moment of tense silence, then both women relaxed and moved on. Tabitha sat forward in her chair and rested her elbows on the table as Sarah pulled the bacon and eggs from the fridge and set to work. The shoe box sat alone. Tabitha rested her chin in her hand and thought, fingering the lid of the shoe box distractedly. Sarah was more confident than before, that was what was different about her. She seemed lighthearted, almost buoyant, and fully capable of turning her aunt's sassiness back on her. There was more to it than that, but it defied words.

The lid of the shoe box fell to one side under the pressure of her fingers, and Tabitha immediately abandoned her musings. Something inside caught her eye and her heart fluttered uncomfortably. Shaking slightly she stretched out one hand and plucked the little red book from the box. The red linen cover was more faded than it had been, and the binding of the book was worn from use. The elaborate gold lettering had flaked away a little in places, but the two-word title was still easy to read at a glance. The Labyrinth.

She set the book down on the table slowly and pulled the box toward her. It was filled with an odd collection of things. Pictures, magazine clippings, costume jewelry, bright red lipstick that she felt sure Sarah hadn't worn since she was eight, a music box, and a few other odds and ends. Tabitha sat back in her chair, and ran the back of her hand over her eyes, an odd mix of emotions swirling inside of her.

The silence had lasted too long. Tabitha dropped her hand and looked up to see Sarah staring at her. "Fairytale days are over, huh?" She asked, her voice oddly strained. Clearing her throat she put the lid back on the box and pushed it away from her. "I mean, you feel like you can leave them behind now, right?"

"Shouldn't I?" Sarah asked cautiously. Now it was her turn to look at her aunt suspiciously. Tabitha's reaction to the book had hardly been subtle, her pale complexion and trembling hands had betrayed her. And that look in her eyes was very. . . knowing. But then, she had kind of suspected something like this. That was the whole reason she had chosen to come here. "Shouldn't I leave my daydreams behind and get on with my life? Its time I put those things away."

Tabitha laughed suddenly, a dry, almost humorless laugh. "These things here," She gestured to the box. "They are not the problem, Sarah. I hope you aren't relying on curing yourself by putting these away. If you want to leave behind those dreams that keep you anchored to misguided expectations, more power to you! But keep in mind that those things you used to fantasize about are not necessarily unreal, they just need to be seen for what they really are. Most often they are complicated and somewhat painful, along with most other things in this world. Love, especially. "

She paused, and looked a stunned Sarah over. "Maybe you _have_ gotten some perspective." She said thoughtfully. "Now," Tabitha climbed to her feet, the little red book in one hand. "I hope you wont mind me taking my book back. I've missed having it these past. . . what has it been? Five years?"

"Six." Sarah corrected her numbly.

"Don't let the food burn." Sarah whirled back on the pan and flipped the bacon and eggs. "I'm going to get dressed. Then I think we should go out this morning. We'll go to the mall and have lunch, and you can tell me how Jareth is doing." Tabitha slipped out of the kitchen, unfazed by the sound of utensils clattering to the floor behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that originated in The Labyrinth.

Chapter 2: Lunch

"_How did you know?_" Sarah blurted suddenly into the silence. Apparently she couldn't take the suspense any longer. Tabitha smiled wryly behind the menu she was holding up and reached for her water glass.

"Calm down, Sarah. If you wanted to know so badly, why didn't you just ask sooner?" From the other side of the menu Tabitha could hear Sarah's flustered attempts at forming words.

"Wha. . . ju. . ._why?_" Frustrated, Sarah dropped her menu on the table and sat back in the booth, her eyes burning holes through the menu her aunt was using as a shield. After a long moment, during which the waiter had come, taken their orders, and brought their drinks, Sarah spoke.

"You know, I'm beginning to think I know where you got your frustrating evasiveness from. It's familiar."

"That's quite a shot in the dark. How do you know he didn't get it from me?" Tabitha asked knowingly, plucking a tortilla chip from the basket and dipping it into the salsa. With her other hand she nudged the chip basket toward Sarah.

"Oh, sure. What are you, his mother?" Sarah asked drily, ignoring the chips.

"I'm twenty-five." Tabitha reminded her for the second time, annoyance flashing across her face.

"His sister then?"

"Oh, _please._"

"Then what? If you don't tell me soon, I'm going home." Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and waited. Tabitha looked at her and took a deep breath. She felt oddly warm and uncomfortable, despite the restaurant's air conditioning. The lighting in the place was purposely dim, which Tabitha normally liked because it gave off a feeling of privacy. Today, however, the darkness in the room seemed more. . . threatening somehow. She strained her eyes to make out the faces of the people in the tables nearby.

'I'm just edgy,' She thought to herself. 'Because. . . .' Well, she knew why. She hadn't whispered a word of her knowledge to anyone in over twelve years. She had almost managed to convince herself that the whole thing had been imagined when Sarah had arrived that morning and triggered those old, almost alien instincts in her. Some things just could not, perhaps would not, be forgotten. Despite her flippant attitude, Tabitha was anxious and her stomach was as tight as a fist. It was a bit unexpected, really, she had thought she'd gotten over it. One way or the other, there was no going back now. Sarah had become involved.

"Why did you take that book, Sarah?" There was an air of weariness in that question. Sarah shifted uncomfortably.

"You said I could borrow any book in your office that I could reach without a stool. _The Labyrinth _was sitting on your desk. I always meant to return it to you, but I liked it so much that I put off giving it back." She looked uncertainly at Tabitha, who was giving her an odd, wide-eyed stare.

"It was on my desk?" Tabitha looked pale again, and a little dazed as well. After a moment she seemed to snap out of it, grabbing her water glass and draining it all at once. "Just sitting there on my desk." She murmured quietly to herself.

"Aunt Tabitha?" Sarah interjected firmly. "Where did you get that book?"

"Hmm? Oh, where?" Tabitha shook herself and put the empty glass down. "That's easy. I wrote it."

Sarah stared at her flatly. "You made it up?"

Tabitha shouted with laughter, then clapped her hand over her mouth self-consciously.

"Ah, nooo." She said, still chuckling. "Me, make up the Goblin King? You give me too much credit, sister. No, I wrote it, but I didn't make it up. I simply recorded events as I saw them."

Sarah's eyes widened as those words sank in. "Events as you saw them? Then you saw the labyrinth? You saw Jareth? When? H-how! What. . ." She trailed off, overwhelmed with questions.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and I'll try to answer them, but keep in mind I was twelve at the time and I hardly understood everything that was happening."

"You were twelve? It didn't seem like twelve-year-old writing."

"It went through several revisions over the years. The last time I rewrote it I was nineteen years old. There was an old friend of my grandfather's who binds book professionally, and I asked him to bind mine. When he did, I took it home and put it in the lock box I have in my closet. It was at least another year before I unlocked that box to put something in it, and I found the book gone."

"But I swear Aunt Tabitha, It was just sitting there on your desk, by your computer. It was small and thin, so I thought it was a kid's book anyway. By the time I realized it wasn't, I was hooked on the story."

Tabitha sat back and mentally combed through the pages of the book that she could remember, trying to judge if there were anything in it unsuitable for a ten-year-old to read. Nothing came immediately to mind, but she was still uneasy. She wondered if it had anything to do with Sarah's obsession with play-acting and fantasy in the years that followed. But she was just being paranoid. Sarah had been predisposed to fairy tales, and reading _The Labyrinth_ wouldn't have made much of a difference. She sighed heavily.

"I don't suppose you still have the map and the photograph?" She asked.

"What map? What photograph?" Sarah looked genuinely puzzled.

"The ones that were folded up in the book."

"There wasn't anything in the book when I got it."

Tabitha sat back in the booth and closed her eyes. When she opened them again they held a heavy sadness. Sarah took it in quietly, a little surprised. Tabitha could be such a hard woman at times. She had walls that kept her heart neatly protected from just about everyone. To see a vulnerable emotion written in those eyes was rare, and Sarah was unused to it. Her step-aunt always seemed so strong no matter what the situation, as if she were perpetually armed and ready for some kind of attack.

She had once overheard her father describing Tabitha, as he understood her, to her stepmother shortly after their marriage. He had said she was like a fortress, carefully guarding something inside that must have been precious to her. Over the years Sarah had come to understand what he meant. Tabitha could friendly, witty, and often generous, but if she rarely asked anyone for anything and if she were ever scared, sad, hurt, or most anything else, she hid it all behind her walls.

"Ah, well. It doesn't matter." In an instant that trace of sadness was gone. "I don't suppose the map would have been accurate anymore, anyway."

"What was it of?" Sarah couldn't help but ask. Tabitha opened her mouth to say something, then closed it thoughtfully. After a pause she said simply:

"It was a map of the labyrinth."

Again Sarah felt compelled to stare. "But the labyrinth was never the same one minute to the next!"

"It wasn't an ordinary map." Was all Tabitha would say. Sarah pressed, but Tabitha changed the subject.

"So, since you told me this morning that the baby woke you up I assume Toby is alright."

Sarah flinched.

"Yeah, Toby's fine. He - he seems normal too. I don't think he remembers anything."

"Well, he is a bit young. How did it happen?"

"I-I got frustrated. I wished him away. _I didn't know it would work!_" She cried urgently, willing Tabitha to believe her.

"Of course you didn't," Tabitha laughed drily. "No sane person would expect that to actually work. I guess you just have to be careful what you wish for. Go on, what happened after that?"

Sarah hesitated, her eyes fixing on the waiter approaching with their food. As he set their plates on the table Tabitha glanced at her watch and raised an eyebrow.

"It feels like we've been here longer." She commented. They assured the waiter that they needed nothing else. As soon as he was out of hearing range Sarah began her story. Two hours passed, in which the two women picked slowly at their food and sipped lightly at their drinks, not particularly interested in either. Tabitha constantly pressed for details, but made things simpler with her impressive knowledge of the labyrinth. Sarah didn't have to try and describe locations for her. At length Sarah came to a halt, faltering in the explanation of seeing her friends in the mirror. Tabitha smiled, placing her credit card with the check. The smile was a little sad.

"What happened when _you_ went into the labyrinth?" Sarah asked. Tabitha was silent as she signed the credit card receipt and pulled her wallet out of her purse to make the tip.

"You are assuming a lot." She replied at length, laying a large tip on the table.

"I am not. You knew about Jareth, you say you had a map of the labyrinth, and you guessed out of nowhere that I had been there. I think it's a safe guess that you've been there yourself."

"Yes, but you are assuming that I played the game like you did. I didn't. I almost wish I had. The Goblin King is more bearable when he invites you in to the labyrinth himself." She got to her feet and slung her purse over her shoulder. "Is it alright if I write this down, Sarah? I wont use yours or Toby's names, and it wont be published. But I would like to write it out."

"Well, sure. I don't mind, really, if nobody else knows who its about. Besides, then it wont just live in my memory. Aunt Tabitha, if you didn't play the game, then who is the story about?"

"I don't remember her name anymore. I haven't seen her since, and even when it happened I wasn't able to get very close to her. She faded away from the labyrinth after her victory against Macsen, and if anything happened after that no one told me about it.

"Listen, Sarah. The book you have is the only one I had bound, but there are others. If you really want to know more about what happened to me, I can get the writing for you. But honestly, I think you should let it go. You have seemed more peaceful today than I think I've ever seen you. I don't want to see you lose that by wrapping yourself up in these things again. You said you were ready to move on, and really, what good is dwelling on that place going to do you? Take it from me, it can be quite a burden at times."

Sarah chewed on her lower lip. Tabitha wasn't making a whole lot of sense. She hadn't been invited into the labyrinth? What had she been doing there? If she really felt that it was better to let go of the whole thing, why was she holding on to it herself? She did have a point, though. Since defeating Jareth, Sarah had felt more at peace than ever. She felt like she had a life and future in front of her, and things seemed to make more sense. Yet she was burning with curiosity about Tabitha's story.

"I want to read your other stuff." She decided. Tabitha sighed.

"Alright. I've locked it all away, and it will take some doing to find it. I tell you what, give me a week to straighten things out. Come back next Saturday and I will have it ready for you."

Sarah moaned inwardly. '_A week? She's trying to kill me!'_ "Oh, alright. I'll come back next Saturday."

"Lets go. I have a lot to do today." Tabitha said, fishing her keys from her purse as they headed out of the restaurant.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own The Labyrinth or anything in it.

And just to be safe: smoking is bad for your health and also illegal if you happen to be underage.

A/N: Thanks for the great reviews! They're really encouraging!

Chapter 3: The Visitor

Tabitha sat back in her chair and rubbed her aching eyes. Hours of focusing on the computer screen had left her nearly blind in the growing darkness. She lowered her hands from her face and looked around the room. The thin, grey light of late dusk was filtering in through the sliding glass doors behind her, draining the color from everything it touched and splashing shadows, like water, on the walls. The only color in the room came from the digital clock mounted on the wall above the computer. The numbers were neon blue, and shone oddly bright in the grey, washed-out room. Tabitha squinted at the clock, but her eyes blurred the numbers so badly she couldn't make any of them out.

It didn't matter. She had been writing for hours and her head ached, she needed to take a break wether she wanted to or not. Reluctantly she got up from the desk and made her way through the fading light into the kitchen, mentally analyzing the scene she had just written. This story of Sarah's was burning its way through her mind. She had been writing and rewriting for days, the words and revisions pouring out hot and unending from her fingertips. She could see it all so clearly, and it had possessed her mind like a fever to the extent that even when she was at work she was thinking about it.

She had been going at a breakneck pace for nearly six days now, beginning her writing when work let out around two o'clock and continuing until late in the night. Sometimes she would go until one or two in the morning, breaking only once or twice out of sheer necessity. The story was nearly done now, which was good because she was beginning to falter. Her fingers were tired and the creative well of her mind was strained. Soon she would have to stop and rest or writer's block would seize her out of sheer exhaustion.

She poured herself a glass of iced tea and returned to her study, purposefully passing her computer and opening the sliding glass door. A cool, stiff breeze had picked up since the early afternoon, and it plucked at Tabitha's clothes and hair as she stepped out onto the balcony. It felt refreshing to her, like running water on a hot summer's day. With a sigh she relaxed against the balustrade and set her glass on top.

The dusk seemed darker than it should be, somehow. Tabitha looked up at the sky and saw heavy black clouds hanging there, blotting out the stars. A sudden rumble of thunder rolled in the distance, long and loud. The skin on her arms and legs prickled, and the fine hairs at the back of her neck lifted uncomfortably. Her hands gripped the railing as she stared ahead at the pale place on the horizon where the sun had recently set. Lightning flashed. She was just being edgy again, she told herself firmly, she had spent way too much time thinking about the Underground lately. She took a deep breath and forced her thoughts onto other things.

She thought of the office where she worked part-time and what she would need to do the next morning when she went in. The second installment of the money she earned on her most recent novel had come in, so she was in a decidedly comfortable place financially. So comfortable that she really didn't need to work at anything but writing anymore, but she had discovered that it was a bad idea to for her to stay at home all the time. If she did not have something that demanded she get out and talk to people, she would fold up on herself and get lost in her own little world. She needed other work and human contact to save her from complete isolation and thinking too much.

When she was allowed to think too much her thoughts got depressing and sometimes dark. Too much empty time, she had learned as a teenager, could lead to dangerous things.

But now her thoughts had come full circle, and she was thinking about the somewhat dark, dangerous things that lived in her past. She went back into her office and dug up the single pack of cigarettes she had been living off of for the past four years. She tapped one loose and put the pack away, then retrieved her only lighter from her makeup bag. Lighting the cigarette, she returned to the porch and leaned into the railing again.

Smoking had never been a very addicting habit for her. She had tried it a bit when she was thirteen, but hadn't liked it much. It wasn't until her first year in college that she established it as a casual habit. She had tried it again out of sheer stubbornness, deciding that she was adult enough to do as she liked and take the consequences. It was with equal stubbornness that she would put her foot down and refused to smoke if she did not want to. If her friends did not like it they did not have to be around her. To her surprise, most of her friends respected that.

Over the course of her freshman year she had smoked less and less, until it just seemed unnecessary most of the time. Since then she had hardly touched a cigarette, but it was surprising how swiftly old habits could find you in times of stress. When she became really anxious about something, the urge for a cigarette fairly galloped into her thoughts. She blamed it on the fact the she had developed the habit during one of her most stressful years in college.

That aside, she was anxious tonight. She couldn't exactly say why, but the thunder was making her heart pound. She took a puff off the cigarette and sipped at her iced tea, perhaps a little too quickly to be natural. Her thoughts turned to the book. She had wondered and worried about its disappearance for years, and now she found she had a reason to worry. Well, perhaps it was a little too late to worry about Sarah, since the worst had already happened to her. Jareth's image flashed in her mind, his lips twisted into that superior, mocking smile. She shook her head to clear it, and rubbed her eyes.

Damn him.

Of course he would chase Sarah. A pretty girl like that. . .

Abruptly she threw a barricade in front of those thoughts, shoving them back as hard as she could. What did it matter what he did, or who he chose to chase? Luckily, Sarah was strong enough to get through it on her own. There was no need to indulge in envy over Sarah's looks, they gave her enough trouble as it was.

All the same, those thoughts toyed on the edge of her mind as she tried once more to think of other things. She thought about the missing map and photograph. She knew for certain that they had been folded up in the book when she put it in the lock box. Whoever had removed it from the box had taken them, she was sure. It was the only explanation. The real question was; who had taken it out of the box? And why set it on the desk? Had it been meant for Sarah all along?

Jealousy, hot and rough, reared it's ugly head for a moment. Why Sarah? Why was she so special? Tabitha had been the first to crawl through challenge after challenge in that place, and what had she come away with in the end? Nothing but her memories and a disturbing knowledge of the Underground. Which was more than she could say for her grandfather.

Shame took her then, and she wrestled the jealousy down. Who they paid attention to was none of her business. Her business was merely to pay a debt owed. Her heart grew heavier and she stood rooted to the spot, her head bowed. She really needed to finish up that bit of writing and hand it in. The sooner she did, the sooner she would be free of this incident and she could try to move on with her life. Again.

_Thock, thock, thock-_ Tabitha's head snapped up at the sound of something steadily striking the balustrade. From the far corner of the balcony to her right came a solid, perfectly clear crystal about the size of a billiard ball, bouncing along the top of the railing as if it were made of rubber. It struck the wood loudly with each bounce, like a hammer striking a nail. She froze, staring at it in horror, as it moved steadily along the rail toward her. It neatly cleared her glass of iced tea, struck the wood between her hands, and continued on its way to the opposite end of the balcony. It bounced one last time at the end of the rail and vanished over the edge.

Though she listened hard, Tabitha never heard it strike the ground below. Her heart pounding, she waited for some sort of follow-up to that. Tense, she kept her ear cocked for a voice behind her, her eyes strained to see if anything was moving in the darkness. Nothing happened. Seconds ticked away into minutes, and minutes clustered together into a quarter of an hour, and still nothing appeared out of the darkness to speak with her.

She released the railing and picked up her glass, her hands shaking slightly. Dropping the cigarette to the floor, she ground it under her heel and darted into the house, slamming the glass door closed behind her. In one fluid motion she turned and pulled the vertical blinds closed, twisting the wand until they shut out the night. The only light in the room was dim and flickering, emanating from the pipe-maze screen-saver on her computer. She turned and flicked on her desk lamp, trying to calm herself down. The warm yellow light was a bit too dim for her nerves, so she turned to flip on the overhead light.

In the doorway near the light-switch, unnaturally still, stood the figure of a man cloaked completely in black. She stumbled backwards into her desk-chair, a scream lodged in her throat. The figure did not move. His head was completely covered by an ink-black hood that draped over his face. His hands could not be seen in the folds of his cloak, and only the faintest tips of shiny black boots peeked out under the hem.

She stared in wide-eyed horror, unable to breathe. She opened her mouth, words forming on the tip of her tongue, but before she could speak the house was rocked by an intense crash of thunder. Lightning flashed a white so bright it streamed in around the blinds. The furniture rattled and scraped against the wood floors. One of her bookshelves pitched forward and spilled its contents on the floor before following them down itself with a mighty crash. The electricity flickered then went out, stranding her in sudden darkness.

There was a moment of heart-stopping silence. She could hear nothing but her own ragged breathing. Her eyes were fixed toward the doorway, but the figure had vanished in the blackness. She stretched out one hand and felt around for her desk lamp, hoping against logic that it might switch back on if she tried. With her other hand she felt about for something to use as a weapon. Her fingers wrapped about something slender and smooth on the floor near her chair. It was wet and cold, and made a hollow, bell-like sound when it bumped against the chair leg. She clutched it, bringing it quickly in front of her and holding it in a manner nearly forgotten in twelve years. As she did, something cold and wet splashed down on her knees, causing her to jerk back into her seat again.

Another crash of thunder roared overhead, followed immediately by an intense flash of lightning that briefly lifted the darkness from the room. In that short moment she found herself staring up at the figure. It was diving at her. She screamed then, scrambling back against the chair so hard it tipped over backwards and dropped her into the fallen bookshelf. Something icy cold struck her heart and the darkness spun wildly behind her eyes as she collapsed. Funny, though. She didn't feel anything beneath her. She didn't really feel anything at all anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Fear

Fear stared coldly down at the girl. She lay in a heap, twisted uncomfortably against the edge of the book case. He exhaled slowly, his breath seeping out of the hood in a long, chilling hiss. She must be dead. From the talk he'd heard he had been certain she would put up more of a fight than that. It was a bit disappointing, really. The rock had fallen, and with a shriek, no less.

Ah, well. He didn't have time for this. He had a job to do, and it would simply have to be done without her. Turning away from the girl's body he began to search the office. The thunder and lightning outside continued, blasting mercilessly at the house. Fear spread his thin white lips into a tight smile. What a drama queen that man could be, he thought. If only Jareth knew what a help he was being by sending that blessed mess. Of course, if he knew that, he would likely realize a number of things that Fear did not want him to know, and that would just make things difficult. It was better that he thought the silly little girl was ignoring his orders.

He wasn't overly worried that Jareth would come looking for Tabitha. If she ignored him for long enough he would most likely turn his back on her and withdraw his power. She wasn't overly important to him, and he was far too wrapped up in his own troubles to worry about her disobedience. With any luck he would never learn of her death, or pause to wonder about the map she kept until it was too late for him to do anything about it.

He took his time searching. With the slightest wave of his hand, he turned over every last piece of furniture, opened and dumped every drawer, relentlessly combed over every last inch of the house, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. He found nothing. His anger mounting, he went back to the office and violently stirred up the area near the girl's body. Nothing. There was only one place left to look.

Furious now, he thrust his hands at her torso. They passed completely through her to the floor below, leaving no mark. It was as if he were nothing more than a ghost. Spreading his fingers, he raked his hands through her in search of the one item he could make physical contact with. As his hands passed through her heart she flinched, jerking herself sharply against the book case. He paused, surprised. So, she was still alive. How very interesting.

He finished his search, finding nothing in the end. Damn it all, he was running out of time! He whirled about and ran down the hallway, stopping in front of the full length mirror. Instead of his reflection he saw a long winding path lined with stones leading up to a squat little stone house on a hill. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he grimaced and stepped through the glass, leaving the destruction behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I _still_ do not own the labyrinth. This gets a bit repetitive. . .

A/N: Again, thanks for the reviews! (I even enabled my anonymous reviews, so thanks!)

Chapter 5: Destruction

Tabitha was awake before she realized it. Her eyes opened and she stared straight up, seeing nothing at all. Slowly her eyes cleared and her mind accepted the view they offered; the smooth white plane of the ceiling. She blinked. Slowly, almost painfully so, she sat up. Her body was unusually heavy and stiff, and it didn't want to bend into a sitting position at first. Wincing, she eased herself up and pushed her feet against the fallen desk chair for leverage. The chair didn't move; it was firmly entrenched in debris.

She slumped a little, breathing hard from the effort. The world swam before her eyes and she lifted her heavy hands to cover them, straining to remember what had made her this way. The events of the night before, the entire _day_ before, were shrouded in fog. A faint tremor of panic fluttered in her throat, and she shivered.

The sudden sound of the phone shattered the quiet in the room, and sent a tremor of shock down Tabitha's spine. Pain burst suddenly through her chest, her heart racing as if she had just finished a marathon. Gasping, she clutched at her chest and hunched forward against her knees, praying desperately for the wrenching, bubbling pain to stop. It seemed like forever before the knot of pain inside of her began to ease, but when she became aware of herself again she could still hear the phone ringing. It continued to ring several times, stopping only when her answering machine finally picked up. Through a haze of pain, Tabitha could hear Karen's voice grinding into the recording.

"_Tabitha, where are you!" _She was practically yelling. "You aren't answering the phone, your supervisor says you were a no-show at work today, and none of your friends have seen you in a week! Answer this phone!" Tabitha lifted her head slowly, looking toward the place where her phone should have been. She could hear the concern underlying her sister's angry tirade. "I can't deal with this, Tabitha! Granddad's in the hospital and you need to get over here! I'm not calling you again!" There was a firm _click_, then the room was quiet once more.

Tabitha was still for a moment as everything she saw and heard sunk in. She was a no-show at work - something about the way Karen said that made her think that her work shift was already over. But that would mean it was already after two o'clock in the afternoon. She moved on to the next bit of information, letting it roll around in her head until it latched on to something. Granddad was in the hospital. Fear rose up inside her and her heart began to speed up again. Small, warning pains darted through her chest. The more those thoughts crowded her mind, the worse she felt, until blackness crept into the edges of her vision. She began to tremble. Curling into a ball, she huddled on the floor.

She wasn't sure how much time passed before she felt strong enough to try standing. Hours, probably. She spent that time slipping in and out of sleep, her exhausted body refusing to do what she wanted it to do, until the bright sunlight that filtered in around the blinds began to deepen into gold. Evening had arrived, which meant to Tabitha that it must have been about six o'clock. Over time her heartbeat had grown stronger and more stable, and the fog that clouded her mind was beginning to lift.

Sleeping memories of the night before began to stir in the depths of her mind, but she found it difficult to concentrate on them. It was as if all thoughts were just draining out of her head like water.

At length she sat up, much easier this time, and decided to try the intimidating act of standing. The layer of books and loose paper on the floor did not make that easy, especially since there was nothing to hold onto. With one foot she dug a clear space on the floor to stand on, then rolled onto her knees there. Slowly but surely she climbed to her feet and managed to stand. This is how a toddler must feel when she's just learning to walk, she mused. Now that she was much higher off the ground, she took a look around.

The shock nearly sent her to the floor again, but she managed to keep her balance by wheeling her arms. She had known that the room was a mess, the pile of papers and books she had been lying on had warned her of that, but what met her eyes was so devastating she could not at first comprehend. It was as if her belongings had been reduced to a thick carpet of lint, dust, and splinters. She had the distinct mental image of a giant hand plucking up her house and shaking it like a snowglobe until everything inside crumbled.

Somewhere in that heap lay her cordless phone. Her desk looked like it had been ripped into chunks, under which lay the shattered remains of her computer. The rest of the room fared no better. She picked her way carefully out of the office, bracing herself for what she felt sure she would find.

As she explored the remains of her things, a welcome feeling of numbness settled over her. She remembered now seeing the black figure in the doorway, remembered it lunging at her. The condition of her house after all of that could hardly be a coincidence. But _why_? The question left her dumbfounded. Why on earth would anyone do this? What could they possibly gain?

She strained her brain, hunting for a logical reason, but only earned a dull ache behind her eyes and a painful flutter in her heart. Apparently this. . . injury? . . . was going to force her not to think too much. What on earth was wrong with her, anyway? She was far too young to have a heart attack.

Abruptly her thoughts turned towards her grandfather. She had almost forgotten that horrible message in the haze of the day. The last thing she needed to be worrying about was the condition of the house! She made her way back up the stairs to her room and dug a duffle bag out of the debris. As she hunted around for wearable clothes she allowed her mind to travel to her granddad.

'The last thing he needed was another heart attack.' She thought worriedly. None of Karen's message had not disclosed the reason her grandfather was in the hospital, but she knew it was a heart attack the way she knew that the sun would rise in the East in the morning. The fact that this sudden hospitalization happened around the same time as her odd attack made her think that this was not a coincidence. With that thought in her head she moved a little faster, jamming clothes and things into the bag and zipping it shut. In a moment she was outside, climbing into her car.

She would have to call her supervisor from her grandfather's house, she figured. If she was careful she could come up with an excuse close enough to the truth to appease him, while omitting the more. . . supernatural elements that would likely only get her checked into a mental institute. There was also the house to consider. If she felt better soon she could take care of it herself, otherwise a cleaning service would need to be called.

'Try explaining that to a group of maids.' She thought drily as she turned on the car. 'Go ahead, try.' Nothing plausible came to mind, the situation was extreme even for a burglary. 'My other personality did it,' She tried. ' Her name is Cindy, and she likes kitchen utensils.' Sadly enough, they would probably believe that. They may even make an attempt at cleaning the place before running away.

She eased the car out onto the street and flipped the air conditioning on full blast. It would be at least an hour's drive, and the evening was uncomfortably warm. As she drove she began to calmly go over the previous night's events. Who had that been? After seeing that crystal on the balcony she had been sure the next person she'd see would be the Goblin king, perhaps just a goblin, but that had certainly not been either. Everything about that phantom had been anti-Jareth in nature. Jareth would never cover his head so completely. It would ruin his hair. Besides, he loved to intimidate his subordinates by making eye-contact with them.

She sighed inwardly, admitting to herself that there was more too it than that. Jareth wouldn't try to terrify a person to death. He was arrogant, demanding, stubborn, and childish, but that kind of behavior was really beyond him. So what had that been? No matter how many times she asked herself that, she still didn't have an answer. All she knew was that it came from the Underground.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimers: consider the labyrinth disclaimed.

Chapter 6: Memories

Jacob Marshall was a big man, and strong for his age. In his youth he had traveled the wild places of the world, making maps of the unknown and keeping journals of the various cultures he came across. He knew seven different languages, flew a number of different planes, owned boats, and knew how to survive if he got lost in the jungle. Tabitha knew nothing of this until she was nine, when she started spending a couple weeks with him every summer. It came as a surprise when she discovered that her quiet, out-of-the-way old grandfather had actually lead an interesting life.

She was fascinated by him, and he saw in her a golden opportunity to pass some of his knowledge on. They spent hours together, combing over old maps, reading about foreign places, and learning how to say 'where is the bathroom?' and such in several different languages. He began to teach her the ins and outs of making accurate maps, and tested her regularly around the nearby town. The summer she turned twelve, Jacob decided to give her a project to apply what she had learned. They packed a lunch and drove out to the river canyon, where there were numerous trails and bridges to map. After selecting a portion of the river, they began to hike.

Tabitha never forgave herself for what happened next. She insisted on exploring an area away from the trail, and ran off into the trees before her grandfather could stop her. He ran after her, calling out her name, but she didn't stop immediately. He eventually caught up and latched hold of her backpack to stop her, but when they turned to go back they couldn't find the trail.

In fact, the more they searched, the less the terrain looked like the canyon. The pine trees started to thin, and the prickly scrub brush began to turn tall and weedy. Before long they were out of the trees completely. They crested a large, flat hill to get their bearings and found themselves staring at the most mind-boggling structure either of them had ever seen.

The labyrinth. She wished now that they had turned around and run as fast as their legs would carry them. But her grandfather couldn't resist a closer look, and, in all honesty, neither could she. The place looked so fantastic they had to get a better look. Just one look, and then they would go.

If only it had worked that way. They looked a little too closely, and before they knew it they were caught trespassing. Tabitha didn't really remember a whole lot about that; by the time they were caught, she had been feeling decidedly overwhelmed by the lack of logic in the place. Everything that happened was kind of a blur. She couldn't quite remember how they got into the labyrinth in the first place, but she had the impression that her grandfather had tricked the gate-keeper somehow. That just made the punishment worse.

Her mind trickled forward, sliding back to his moment of collapse. There was nothing blurry about what happened then. A goblin, as the strange king had referred to it, came to the door and yelled a message through. The old man would be forced to repay his dept in a way that both fit the crime and aided the king. If Jacob Marshall was so curious about the labyrinth, he could spend his time mapping every aspect of it. The map must reflect the state of the labyrinth at any given moment.

The implications of that were mind-numbing. In order for such a map to work, it would have to keep track of each and every element of the labyrinth at once, including most living things. The uses for such a thing were nearly endless. And as if such a feat were not worrisome enough, the goblin added another problem. Since Jacob was useful and the child was not, the child would be cast out of the labyrinth and never allowed to return.

Her grandfather disagreed violently with that decree. He flew into a rage unlike any Tabitha had ever seen before, including her mother's. Bellowing incoherently, Jacob flew at the door and pounded his fists against it. When that didn't work, he took to slamming his shoulder against the door with all of his considerable strength. The door creaked and shuddered, but failed to break. Before long the tantrum took its toll. Jacob hit the floor with his fists pressed against his chest, letting out a strange, moaning cry.

Not long after that the door opened, and Macsen stepped in, followed by his grown son, Jareth. Neither figure said a word as they took in the scene, but it was clear the something had to be done.

In the end, Jacob survived because Macsen was more fair minded than he cared to let on. The punishment still stood, but Tabitha would have to do the job in her grandfather's place. Since the task was daunting, even for a full-grown, experienced adult, he would see to it that she had help. In the meantime, he would simply freeze Jacob where he lay, preserving him until the task was complete and he could be taken home.

When she asked, admittedly hysterical, why Macsen couldn't just heal her grandfather, since he was so strong, he replied simply that tampering with the heart of another was a business too risky to be attempted. Besides, if he saved Jacob's life outright, he and Tabitha would owe Macsen more than either of them could ever pay. Even the help he was already giving would cost them extra. The subject was dropped, and Tabitha was left to fill her grandfather's shoes.

Six months later - it had only added up to a week in their time - Jacob was taken to the hospital. He pulled through better than the doctors expected, and within two days he was ready to go home. He seemed to be doing great, but only Tabitha knew the truth. Jacob Marshall was healed, but every last memory of the labyrinth had vanished from his mind.

"For heaven's sake, don't make things up, Tabitha." He scolded when she tried to talk to him about it alone. "Aren't things frightening enough without adding your strange fantasy to it? Now get on and fetch your mother. I want to talk to her about getting out of this place."

And just like that, Tabitha was alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimers: See previous disclaimers, please. Thank you.

Chapter 7:

Sarah dropped the heavy curtain back over the window, shutting out the darkness, and turned away with a sigh. It was nearly ten o'clock and there was still no sign of them. They were supposed to be home an hour ago. She threw herself onto the couch and tried to focus on the television, which was showing an old rerun in a happy blaze of noise and color. No matter how many times she tried giving it her attention, though, her mind always ended up wandering.

It wasn't that she wanted the family's company, really. By the time they got in, her dad and Karen would likely not be good company anyway, and Karen's parents had never been good company to begin with. She really just didn't want to be alone in this house anymore. It was old, dark, and unfamiliar, and the nearest neighbor was five miles away. To make matters worse, the back of her neck kept tingling, and she couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched.

When Toby had been awake she hadn't really noticed anything, but in the two long hours since then the sense that she was not quite alone had begun to weigh heavy on her nerves. She had been profoundly relieved when Karen had called to say that they would be home soon. But that had been an hour ago. The hospital wasn't that far away.

Sarah shifted her position restlessly on the couch, grabbed the remote control and began flipping randomly through channels. She stopped for a moment, then flipped again, growing more agitated as she went. Frustrated, she slammed the controller down on the cushion next to her and whirled to look behind her.

There was nothing there. She got up and made a quick round through the house, checking on Toby and flipping on all of the other lights in the house. There was still nothing. She started back down the stairs. As she reached the bottom she could hear the sound of a car engine pulling into the driveway, and headlights flashed through the gap in the curtains. Relief flooded through her, and she ran to front door to let them in.

They filed in, silent and grim. Karen and Tabitha's parents came in first, and Sarah shrank back against the wall to avoid them. They were in their late sixties, but looked significantly younger, despite the silver of their hair. They had an air about them that strongly suggested both money and aggression, and Sarah instinctively tried to stay out of sight as much as possible in their presence. She had noticed that even Karen seemed skittish, almost clumsy, in their presence, and wondered if perhaps she had been abused by them. The thought almost made her pity her stepmother.

Next came Karen and Robert, both looking tired and nervous. Robert carried a worn duffle bag easily in one hand. Tabitha brought up the rear. Tabitha's eyes were locked on her parents with an expression that made Sarah think of a potential victim eying a predator from a distance. She was cautious, possibly even calculated, in her movements. As soon as the door was locked and closed she turned off the foyer light and stood in the darkness. She stayed there for a long time, moving only to stand next to Sarah, who hadn't moved away from the wall herself.

Tabitha's parents moved into the living room and made to settle in, shedding coats and shoes into carefully placed and folded piles. Karen was making her way upstairs as Robert sought out his daughter to kiss her goodnight. He seemed neither surprised nor reproachful when he found her hiding in the foyer. He simply kissed her on the forehead.

"Better be getting to bed, ladies." He said softly. "Before the atmosphere gets any colder." He cast a flat, knowing look toward the living room, then headed upstairs after Karen.

The girls exchanged looks in the darkness, and slid out of the foyer as quietly as they could. In a moment they were up the stairs and out of sight.

"Dad says we're sharing a room." Sarah whispered. "It's right over here. Where's your luggage?"

"Your dad brought it in. Grabbed it out of the back seat before I could. It's not like it was heavy. . ." She murmured the last bit to herself and sighed. Sarah looked at her curiously and opened the door to the bedroom, ushering her in.

The room was fairly large. The walls were a pale blue and the trim about the door and windows were painted white. The furniture was white as well, and most of it appeared to be wicker. Blue accents were everywhere, from curtains to the fluffy blue-and-white floral comforter that lay on the daybed. The only thing that clashed in the room was the metal trundle bed that had already been pulled out and made up. Its black metal frame and dark red comforter seemed to collide against the sunny atmosphere of the room.

Tabitha's eyes were hooded as she looked over the room. She seemed to Sarah to be struggling against something, her hands were clenched at her sides and her mouth was set in a hard line.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked nervously. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Tabitha's voice was hoarse. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little. . . emotional right now. This used to be my room."

"Oh." Sarah plucked at her shirt uncomfortably. "How is your grandfather?"

"Not doing very well, actually. He hasn't come around all day. His heart rate seems to be doing better though. I hope. . . " She trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut. For the first time Sarah could see that Tabitha really _was_ emotional. "I. . . I want to talk to him again. . . but he might not. . ." She couldn't seem to get the words out. Turning away from Sarah, she picked up her duffle bag, which Robert had left on the floor, and threw herself down on the daybed.

Feeling awkward, Sarah set about getting ready for bed. She wanted to talk to Tabitha badly, but she thought it might be inappropriate to bring up the labyrinth at a time like this. She had never met Tabitha and Karen's grandfather, and while she felt bad for the family that knew him, she didn't feel much about it personally. The biggest thing on her mind had been her conversation with Tabitha the week before, and she was dying to find out more about Tabitha's experience in the labyrinth.

She felt guilty for even thinking about it at the moment. The last thing Tabitha needed was to be grilled about the past. In an attempt to take her mind off of the situation, she started straightening and fluffing the room. For a long while the sound of Sarah's movements was the only thing to be heard, and she was beginning to think that Tabitha had fallen asleep when her aunt suddenly sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her head was cocked as if she were listening. Then, apparently satisfied with what she heard, she turned to Sarah.

"We need to talk," She said, an oddly determined look in her eyes. Sarah stared at her for a moment, then fairly leapt across the room, landing neatly on the trundle bed facing Tabitha.

"Okay."

Tabitha looked at her for a moment, surprised by her eagerness, then seemed to shake it off.

"Weird things have been happening, Sarah."

"Weird how?"

Taking a deep breath, Tabitha plunged into the prior evening's events, outlining every detail of the attack. As she finished the story she could see that Sarah's eagerness had turned to alarm.

"That wasn't. . . you don't think it was. . ." Sarah stumbled over her words. Tabitha shook her head.

"No, that wasn't Jareth. It really wasn't his kind of thing. But it was something from the underground, I'm certain."

Sarah nodded, thoughtful. "Does your chest still hurt?"

"Every now and then, when I get upset or I move too quickly. I had to tell Karen and your dad that I had a break-in. That was the only excuse that was close enough to the truth to back up, and still explained why I didn't come to the hospital right away. I told them I called the police, but they didn't find anything helpful. Hopefully they wont push it any father than that." Tabitha shifted uncomfortably. "Mom and Dad didn't really believe it, I could tell, but it doesn't matter. They wont look into it."

"What is their problem, anyway?" Sarah asked in a fierce whisper. "They make me nervous, even when they don't pay any attention to me."

"That's just the way they are. They think that Karen and I are embarrassing, going on the way we do about Granddad. They don't like any public display of emotion. Also, they were horrified by how late I was - things simply aren't done that way, and no excuse is good enough. So they are currently freezing the two of us out. Personally, I'm relieved. I'd rather be frozen out than put up with their demeaning attitudes. To say the least." She muttered. Tabitha rubbed her eyes, and changed the subject. "I can't believe that Granddad's heart attack was a coincidence with all of this."

Sarah looked up, her eyebrows raised. "What does your grandfather have to do with this?"

"Oh, that's right," Tabitha said. "I didn't tell you about that. You see, my grandfather was in the labyrinth with me back then. But he was. . . well, old even then, and the shock caused him to have a heart attack."

Sarah sat for a moment in shock. She found it easy to accept someone as young as Tabitha going into a place of such obvious fantasy, but a man as old as a grandfather? The image clashed in her head. She glanced at Tabitha, who was chewing thoughtfully on her lip. 'She's not telling me something.' She thought to herself. They fell quiet for a moment, lost in thought. Then Sarah got up decisively, and pulled the blankets back on the trundle bed to climb in. "You need to go to the labyrinth." She said firmly.

"What?" Tabitha started. "I don't think that's necessary."

"Well, someone from the Underground attacked you, hurt you somehow, and ripped everything you own to shreds. I think you need to go and find out what that was about. You can't ignore it, aunt Tabitha."

"I'll go back once I finish your story. I'll have to deliver it then, and that will give me a reason for being there." Tabitha lay back on the bed and rolled onto her side away from Sarah.

"Why do you need to deliver my story?" She asked, nervously.

"It's part of my job. I record anything important that happen in the Goblin King's realm." She said simply, refusing to elaborate. Frustrated, Sarah moved on.

"Okay then, how do you plan on finishing my story when your computer is trashed? You need to just go, and get it over with." She prodded.

"But I'll have to go there _anyway_ to deliver your story. I may as well wait and do it all at once." It was clear that Tabitha would try to find any excuse to keep from going there, but Sarah bulled through.

"No, you'll just have to do it twice, then. What if you are attacked again? If you're feeling the way you are, another serious shock could kill you! You need to go and face this thing now. You might even get help from Jareth. I know you haven't told me much about your trip into the underground, but I can't help but get the feeling you know Jareth pretty well. And compared with whatever it was that attacked you, even _I_ have to admit that Jareth looks like a doll."

A small smile flitted across Tabitha's face. Then she sighed and rolled back over to face Sarah, her eyes strangely bright. "Yeah? Well, then, YOU are coming with me."

"Wait, _what!_"


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: see the last seven chapters.

A/N: Okay, things are starting to pick up a bit now.

Chapter 8: The Hall of Doors

As the downstairs clock chimed nine the next morning, Tabitha was standing near the bedroom window watching Karen, Robert, and her parents drive away. In the background the timer on the microwave was dinging, Toby was giggling madly as Sarah tried to dress him, and the gratingly happy sound of children singing "the itsy bitsy spider" blared on the T.V. As soon as the car had disappeared down the street, Tabitha hurried away from the window and ran downstairs to turn off the microwave.

"I don't think it's a good idea to bring Toby with us." Sarah complained as she carried her brother into the kitchen. "I don't want him going back into that place."

"This is different, Sarah. Nobody is wishing anybody away. He'll be safe with us. Besides, it's better than leaving him here in someone else's care. Whoever came after me may have hurt my grandfather as well, and I don't want to just assume that he/she/it will be satisfied with that. Toby was also in the labyrinth, and that could make him a target. I'd rather keep him with us."

Sarah nodded grudgingly, and plunked Toby into the high chair. She had spent most of the previous night trying to convince Tabitha that taking her along was a bad idea, but Tabitha wouldn't budge. She had a feeling that her aunt would drag her along, by the hair if necessary, and now she regretted bullying Tabitha into going back to the Underground. The thought of seeing Jareth again after all that had happened made her stomach twist.

"Here," Tabitha said. "I'll feed him. You go make sure you have everything you need."

"How long do you think we're going to be gone? We have to be back by tonight, or Dad and Karen will have a fit."

"We will be back by tonight, but time in the labyrinth flows more quickly than it does here. If we make sure that we aren't gone longer than. . . oh, say eighteen days, we should be back by eight o'clock tonight, no problem."

"_Eighteen days!_" Sarah exclaimed.

"Yep. Pack. I have already gotten mine and Toby's things together, all you have to do is get your stuff ready."

"But - but what if someone tries to get ahold of us? They might panic if we don't answer." Sarah was beginning to look downright alarmed.

"I've written a note saying that we have errands to run, and wont be back until late. As long as I stop in and see Granddad tonight, they wont be too upset with me. Now hurry up, when your finished I have to go and move my car out of sight."

Grumbling, Sarah ran upstairs to pack. About an hour later they stood in the living room, each with a duffle bag in hand. Toby was securely harnessed into a carrier that hung against Sarah's back, and Tabitha carried his baby bag over her shoulder. Both women looked grim, but determined to get this jaunt over with.

"Alright, let's go." Tabitha said. She turned and headed upstairs. Confused, Sarah followed. For the first time it occurred to her to wonder how they were going to get to the labyrinth. She had assumed that she would call Jareth, but Tabitha didn't seem inclined to do that. Instead, they headed back upstairs and turned down the hall toward Karen and Robert's room, stopping at the door to the hall closet.

Without preamble Tabitha grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open, revealing an unpleasantly dark little box of a room. She gestured for Sarah to step inside, which she did, then followed and closed the door.

"I think you've lost your mind." Sarah said flatly into the dark confines of the closet.

Tabitha said nothing. She turned the inside handle of the door again and stepped back out into the hall. Only, it wasn't the hall anymore. Sarah's eyes grew wide as she stepped out of the closet. They were surrounded by walls of hedge that climbed high above their heads. To their right the hedges opened up to reveal something of a courtyard with what looked like a wishing well in the center. To their left the hedges stretched off another twenty yards, then turned sharply away.

Behind them the door closed with a soft _click_ and when Sarah turned around she saw only a firm wall of emerald-green leaves. There wasn't a door in sight.

"Come on." Tabitha murmured, walking quickly into the clearing. Sarah couldn't help but think that she looked out of place with her dark blue jeans and denim jacket. She wore black hiking boots, and a black t-shirt under the jacket. Hardly a figure that fit the romantic atmosphere the hedge-maze created. But then, Tabitha wasn't exactly. . . well, fit for romance. Sarah sucked in her breath a little at that thought, feeling guilty. Perhaps Tabitha didn't seem fit for romance because she'd never experienced it. 'Okay, okay, time to think about something else.' She reprimanded herself firmly, jogging to catch up with her aunt. Thoughts like that were hardly fair.

Tabitha had set the bags down and approached one of the corners of the courtyard, where a tall stone pillar stood. In the distance, high above the top of the wall the curvaceous form of the castle could be seen, looming over zig zagging stone walls. Sarah looked at it with a feeling of foreboding. She looked back at Tabitha instead, who was climbing up the side of the pillar as if it were a ladder. For the life of her, Sarah could not see what her aunt was holding onto or putting her feet. It looked for all the world like she was standing on empty air.

At the top of the pillar stood an ornate silver mirror on a rotating base. When Tabitha reached it she tilted the glass in such a way that the sunlight reflected off of it toward the castle. Sarah watched quietly, completely confused. Even Toby, who sat contentedly chewing his fists seemed to be watching Tabitha closely. She reached one hand into her pocket and pulled out a small blue marble, which she touched against the glass of the mirror. As it made contact with the glass the marble sank straight through the surface as if it were made of water, and the blue color spread like dye until it filled the glass completely. The light that bounced off the surface was now a vivid blue.

Tabitha seemed to be waiting for something now. She shifted to make herself more comfortable, leaning back against the pillar with her feet wedged against nothingness. Minutes ticked by. The air of expectancy began to fade, and Sarah began to get impatient. She paced the width of the courtyard, shifting Toby into a more comfortable position. Still the time wore on, until a full fifteen minutes had passed and nothing had happened. Tabitha's mouth had set into a thin, angry line, her eyes fixed on the distant castle. Suddenly she pulled herself sharply away from the pillar and began to climb down, her every movement stiff and angry. It seemed that her patience had reached its limit as well.

Before she reached the ground, however, the beam of blue light that reflected off the mirror changed to a bright green, as if someone had splashed yellow coloring into it. Tabitha paused, one foot dangling an inch from the ground. In an instant she reversed directions, climbing back up to the top as quickly as she could. As she came to the top she slapped the flat of her hand against the glass. The blue light extinguished, leaving only a steady beam of yellow that seemed to be coming from the castle. As she lifted her hand away from the mirror the little blue marble rose out of the glass and hovered over the surface until Tabitha's fingers closed firmly around it. Then she climbed quickly back down.

"Come on," She cried, running toward the well in the middle of the courtyard. "He's opened a door for us."

"He's what?" Sarah cried. "Who?" Tabitha didn't answer. She picked the bags up off the floor and tossed them into the well.

"In we go!" Before Sarah could react Tabitha grabbed her arm, tossed her and Toby into the well, and bounded in after them.

The sensation of falling lasted only a moment before a rush of warm air crashed up into them and slowed them down to a gentle descent. The world was filled with shades of grey, and ragged chunks of mist drifted across their path, soaking their clothes as they passed through. They tumbled on through deafening silence. Not even the sound of the wind could be heard, though they felt it pounding against them. Slowly their feet swung downward, as if of their own accord, and they landed on a floor of stone. Their bags were there waiting for them, looking none the worse for the fall.

They were in an empty room with an arched ceiling full of dusty windows. Weak beams of watery light filtered down on them from above. Tabitha glanced at Sarah, who looked like a cat that had just been pried off the ceiling. Her fingers were bent and clawlike, and her eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets. Toby, on the other hand, was laughing.

"Aww, that was fun, wasn't it, Toby?" Tabitha grinned at the baby.

"_Nooo!_" Sarah cried, glaring wildly at her aunt. Toby kept giggling, seemingly encouraged by his sister's reaction.

"Oh, come on, you act like you've never been in the labyrinth before." Tabitha crossed her arms.

"I expect this kind of thing from the labyrinth! What I don't expect is to have my own aunt throw me into a hole in the ground without warning!"

"I knew what I was doing, and I didn't have time to explain it to you. The way he's acting, he might have closed the door on us if we took too long, and then we would really have been in trouble."

Sarah didn't look appeased, but she said nothing.

"There she is!" A voice croaked behind them. They turned in time to see a small group of goblins rounding a corner, the one in the lead pointing at Tabitha.

"Hey," cried another. "She's not alone!" Suddenly the entire group ground to a halt, staring in horror at Sarah.

"It's her!" One of them whispered, sinking back into the group.

"She's with me." Tabitha stepped toward them, her back straight and her head high. "She is not here to see the king, understand."

They whispered amongst themselves for a moment, then the one in the lead nodded his head. "Yes ma'am. His Majesty, the King wishes to see you immediately. You are late." He stated nervously.

"Late for what?" Tabitha looked taken aback.

"You were supposed to report here three days ago. His Majesty said so." A general shudder ran through the group, as if they were afraid of Tabitha. Tabitha just eyed them curiously, a small frown touching her lips as if their behavior troubled her.

"Well, his Majesty can just - never mind. I'll see him right now. Please make my companions comfortable. And keep them out of his Majesty's sight for the time being." She instructed them in an oddly gentle tone before passing them and heading into the hallway that they had just come down.

"She doesn't have to tell us twice." One of the goblins muttered as she vanished into the depths of the castle.

She made her way easily through the castle to the throne room. To her surprise, it was completely empty. She paused for a moment, thinking, then turned and headed up a set of stairs that lead off to one side. The top of the stairs opened into a long white hallway filled with dark wooden doors. She passed through to the end of the hall but found only a dead end. Reaching out with one hand, she slid her open palm along the surface until she was certain that it was solid. This was new.

Tabitha suppressed a groan, turning around to head back down the hall. But the opposite end of the hallway was a dead end now, as well. The stair-well was gone, replaced with another smooth white wall. Apparently he wanted her to go through one of the doors.

She reached out and opened the closest one on her right. A wall of inky blackness met her, swirling like liquid in the doorway. She froze where she stood, her hand locked onto the doorknob. Her heart rate rose sharply as the wall gurgled and began to twist into a vertical whirlpool, spinning sharply away into nothingness until her head spun. With a cry of horror she slammed the door closed and scrambled backward as fast as she could, until her shoulders were pressed against the rough wood of another door.

A soft laugh floated past her, and she swivelled about sharply in search of its source. But the hall was still empty. Clamping down on the sudden swell of panic and nausea, she climbed to her feet and leaned heavily on the door she had fallen against. There was a soft click, and the door swung inward beneath her weight, sending her sprawling backward into a dark room. Her stomach rose into her throat as she fell, crashing into the hard stone floor beyond the doorway. She flew to her feet, her eyes anxiously searching the darkness. A low rustling sound met her ears, like a breeze stirring up the leaves on a tree. Tabitha took a nervous step back, instinctively sticking her foot out to keep the door from closing.

"Want some light?" Jareth's disembodied voice murmured in her ear. And suddenly the room was bathed in brilliant white light that nearly blinded Tabitha. The rustling sound grew frantic, and Tabitha had an image of a tree caught in a hurricane. As the light faded to a tolerable level, Tabitha opened her eyes and looked around.

She screamed, hurtling herself back into the hallway like a cannon ball. As soon as she was out she pivoted and grabbed frantically at the door handle, slamming it closed so hard the doorjamb cracked. From the other side of the door she could still hear the faint rustling sound, a sound she now knew belonged to thousands of spindly-legged spiders climbing over each other, wiggling, scrambling, descending within a massive tented dome of webs, under the bulging form of a Black Widow the size of a Buick.

She jumped away from the door as if it were contaminated and began swatting at her clothes and hair. Bending over, Tabitha shook her hair out over the floor, then proceeded to remove her outer layer of clothing and shake each piece in turn. After ascertaining that nothing had slipped into her clothes she rapidly pulled them back on, trying her best to ignore the shooting pains that coursed through her chest.

He was playing with her.

Gasping for air Tabitha leaned against the wall, counting the doors with mounting dread. She didn't want to know what lay behind the other eight, but it looked like she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. As the pain in her chest faded she stepped away from the wall and squared her shoulders. No matter what lay behind those doors, she swore to herself, she would not give Jareth the satisfaction of seeing her scream again. Never.

She moved to the beginning of the hall and tried the first door on the left. Again she was faced with darkness, but this time something tall and humanoid began to form in the depths, and a white, skeletal arm emerged from the doorway. One bony finger brushed her cheek and slid down to clasp her throat, its fingers biting into her flesh. Tabitha threw the door closed, crushing the arm, and it dissolved into a sickly greenish grey vapor.

Shaking now, she made her way to the next door. Her throat was clenching in a rush of short convulsions, and her lungs were fighting for air as the upper half of her body seized up. She wasn't sure if she had it in her to test all of the doors, perhaps not even the next one. She wanted to ask Jareth to please, please stop playing games with her, to just leave her alone if he didn't want to see her, but as soon as her mouth opened to say the words she closed it again. NO! She WOULD NOT beg! _No!_

At least, not yet.

Tabitha pulled herself upright and started opening and closing doors as quickly as she was able, determined to get through the test. Her nerves were tested in different ways with each door. An ancient cemetery under a stormy sky with statuary that turned to look at her, a city sunk into the depths of the ocean, with massive rotting buildings that began to crumble over her, the empty nothingness of a void. On and on it went, ranging from eerie melancholy to nerve-breaking terror, until she came to the last unopened door.

A green hill speckled with wild flowers met her eyes. A sky of deep blue stretched out over a beautiful piece of land, and a gentle breeze rolled over the tall grasses. A creature made of soft-looking white fur rolled towards her down the hill and popped its plump spherical body up onto its hind legs. It had large dark eyes that fixed on her with an air of such pleading sweetness she immediately felt entranced.

The creature chattered at her and bounded a short ways back up the hill, pausing to look back as if asking her to follow it. The breeze wafted up to her, teasing her nose with the scent of flowers. Everything beyond that door seemed beautiful, peaceful, and charming. Slowly, Tabitha backed away and closed the door.

If she was forced to choose a door to pass through, she quite thought the whirlpool looked safer.

Purposefully now, she opened the door to the whirlpool and stared at the smoky black fluid. Bracing herself, she brushed her fingers against the surface, only to find that she couldn't pull back. The water gripped her fingers and yanked her bodily into its twisting depths.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I claim only Tabitha, her grandfather, and her parents. The rest is not mine.

Chapter 9: The storm

"Are you enjoying yourself, my dear?"

Tabitha's eyes snapped open. Bright light was pouring down on her from above, outlining a shadowy human-shaped figure that seemed to be bending over her. She was lying on the floor surrounded by a puddle of water.

"Come now, Tabitha," Jareth's voice seemed to be coming from the shadowy figure. "You aren't just going to lie there, are you?" His tone was genial to the point of being mocking. In a rush, Tabitha remembered the doors and all of the dark things that lay behind them, and a surge of hot, sizzling anger flooded over her. She sat up, a bit more slowly than she would have liked, but her muscles were as sore and stiff as if she had just run a marathon. Climbing to her feet was an equally slow process, but she managed it. Stubbornly, she walked past Jareth without sparing him a glance, and made her way toward the source of the bright light.

An ornate silver mirror - twin to the one that sat on top of the pillar in the labyrinth - was catching the late afternoon sunlight that poured in through a high window and shining it down like a spotlight to the floor. Tabitha tilted the mirror toward the ceiling instead, and the room filled with a warm wash of light.

"What's your problem Jareth?" She asked, turning to face him. He stood watching her from the puddle of water, his eyes narrow.

"Problem? What makes you think I might have a problem?" He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled up to her. "Especially with you?" He began to circle her slowly, taking her in as he went.

"Is this how you greet all of your guests? I don't remember getting this special treatment in the past." Tabitha's eyes followed him as he came about to face her.

"No, this greeting was made special for you this time." He said blithely. Her face flushed red and her hands clenched at her sides. He was baiting her and she knew it.

"I came," She began in a tightly controlled voice. "Because some strange things have been happening in my world, and they seem to be coming from here. I thought you might know something about it, or at least point me in the right direction, but I think I'd rather find it on my own, now. So if you'll just let me out-"

"After coming all this way you want to leave? You've become such a quitter, Tabitha. That world of yours isn't healthy, I've always said so. It's made you weak. Perhaps you would be stronger if you stayed here like you were meant to. Did you at least bring the record?"

"No." She said sharply. "Just as I was finishing the record it was destroyed by an intruder."

"An intruder? Hmm. I know a thing or two about intruders." He said coldly, eyeing her. "They are rather troublesome, aren't they."

Tabitha clenched her hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. Why was he doing this to her? He had changed quite a bit since the last time she had seen him. He was a bit thinner, and his face was pale. His clothes didn't look nearly as well cared-for, and his eyes held a hardness that frightened her.

"Some intruders are worse than others." She whispered.

"Oh, really?" He asked.

"Yes, really. You and your father benefitted from my intrusion in the end. The thing that came to my house was deadly, and destroyed everything I owned. I haven't been quite the same since then, and my grandfather-"

"_Spare me your sob story, madam!_" He yelled suddenly. "I have no sympathy for you! For months you ignore my summons, and when you do finally come you bring _her_ with you! And you come to ask for my help! I don't give a damn what your problems are. I have no use for you, so be gone if you like! Just leave me alone!" His roared, spinning away from her and storming out of the room.

Tabitha stood there, feeling like she had just been struck. Her thoughts tumbled about her head, spinning incoherently until one realization broke free and took root. 'He's throwing a tantrum.' She thought. 'All of this is because of Sarah, it has nothing to do with me.'

She battled with indecisiveness for a while before making a decision. She couldn't just walk away in the middle of this fight. It would mean the end of a relationship that had been part of her life for over decade, and she wasn't prepared to deal with that. Stepping away from the mirror, she followed after Jareth.

He hadn't gone very far. In the next room he stood looking out the window, his shoulders hunched.

"I didn't receive any summons." Her voice sounded strained, almost pathetic. He didn't respond. "Honestly, I didn't see or hear anything from the underground. I wasn't ignoring you." Her explanations were falling short, making no impact. Helplessness stirred inside of her as she realized that she was pleading her case to someone who didn't care about her reasons. She stumbled on anyway, trying to make him understand.

"I brought Sarah with me because she insisted that I go and find out about my attacker. She's here for moral support. . . even if she doesn't really want to be. Just knowing that someone who understands is near at hand helps, even if she didn't come all the way up here with me. . . "

She trailed off, thinking that perhaps explaining her feelings wasn't going to get her anywhere. She bit her lip, hating herself for feeling so weak. In an instant she had gone from a stubborn refusal to beg to pleading her case, and it made her feel sick inside. She didn't want to be played with, refused to be tamed, but changed her tune the minute a relationship was threatened.

Why, when he had so callously put her through hell, was she trying to save the frail little relationship that they had? Wouldn't it be better if he turned his back on her? Maybe then she could move on and lead a normal life. Wasn't that what she was always telling herself she wanted?

And yet there she stood, fumbling for words to explain her side. "As far as I knew, I hadn't heard anything from you in years. I was writing Sarah's story to bring here, but then this thing showed up. . . It ruined everything. . ." She felt faint. Her heartbeat was slowing down, and she leaned against the door frame. No more words came as she slid to the floor. As everything around her faded to black she saw him turn sharply towards her, a startled look in his eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thanks again to my reviewers - hopefully I will be able to keep the story mysterious and interesting!

Chapter 10: Jareth

Jareth flung himself into an armchair and rested his feet on the side of the bed, exhausted. His whole body felt stiff and his bones ached, as if he had spent the day running a marathon. Sinking deeper into the chair, he closed his eyes and sipped at a tumbler of brandy, Taking in the pleasant burning sensation that coursed through his body and relaxed his muscles. The real source of his ache and exhaustion lay in the bed next to the chair, breathing deep and steady as if she were asleep. For three long hours he had worked on the disruption in Tabitha's heart, attempting to break the icy blackness that had a grip on her flesh, only to find that the curse was all but impenetrable.

He might have been able to break it if he gathered all of his strength and blasted it away, but such an action would have annihilated Tabitha along with the curse, and that seemed like overkill. Instead he was forced to approach the situation with the delicacy of a surgeon, poking and prying gently at the curse in hopes of finding a weak spot to chip away at. But each time he poked at the darkness he was rewarded with a surge of sizzling pain that shot through his entire body, leaving him incapacitated for increasingly longer periods of time. Refusing to be defeated, he kept working at it. It was only when he wound up on the floor, wracked in spasms of pain for several minutes, that he thought perhaps he should take a break.

He leaned forward in his chair and studied her face, as white and smooth as marble in the twilight. Only her lips held any color, and they were a violent shade of red, as if she were suffering from a fever. Her face was framed with dark blonde hair that lay tangled on the pillow, damp from sweat. This was the first time Jareth had gotten a close look at her since her first visit to the labyrinth, and he couldn't help but compare the two versions of her in his mind's eyes.

Her features were a little strong for a woman, her forehead was a high and a bit broad, her nose was very straight, and her mouth was slightly too wide, but all of these things seemed to work together well enough. At the very least, they suited Tabitha. As a child she had seemed disproportionate to him, but apparently she had grown into her face. She was no great beauty, but there was something pleasing about her looks now, something earthy and subtle that he admitted was attractive.

With a sigh, he sat back in his chair and drained the rest of the brandy in the tumbler. What had happened to him? In the months since Sarah's rejection he had become unrecognizable to himself; a wild thing with bitter anger bubbling just below the surface like a volcano ready to erupt. How had he gotten this way?

It had been bad in the beginning. Jareth had closed himself away from the world for weeks, avoiding even the sight of the labyrinth, burying himself in sleep and darkness. He felt like he had been swallowed by the emptiness he had been left with, and didn't know how to get out.

But that state could not last forever, and eventually he began to wake up to a growing dissatisfaction and bitterness that made him edgy and restless. He couldn't stay locked away, but the outside world seemed hard, cold, and cruel to him, like a master who enjoyed kicking his dog. He hated it, rebelled against it, and sank even deeper into the dark, unhappy mire inside of his head.

His temper became so rough and mean that his own subjects stayed as far away from him as possible. Despite emerging from his rooms he often found himself completely alone, and even when he wasn't he was plagued by cowering subjects who didn't have it in them to fight back. His temper grew more fierce, like a hurricane with nothing to break against. Occasionally he would pause, overwhelmed by depression and loneliness, only to swallow it with anger again and move on. It was easier to burn with anger. When he was angry he didn't have to face the pain.

All the same he became tired of being alone. In a stroke of brilliance he decided to kill two birds with one stone - he would summon Tabitha. Tabitha would not only be company, she was also not likely to cower before him like his goblin subjects. Yes, he had thought, she was far too stubborn to know her place. She had been gone so long she had probably forgotten about her debt to him, and hadn't even done the work she was ordered to do. It was time she was reminded of where she belonged.

Looking back on it now, he couldn't deny that he had been looking for someone to take out his pent-up rage on. He told himself that she was disrespecting him, turning her back on him, and that was why he needed to deal with her, when in reality she had nothing to do with it. And when she didn't respond to the summons, it became the perfect excuse to blow his top about everything.

Tabitha had been lucky that she arrived when the worst was over, or things might have gone considerably worse for her. Jareth thought about that with an uncomfortable stir of guilt in the pit of his stomach. With a heart condition like that, he might have -. No he wasn't going to think about that. There was no point in combing over what might have been. Tabitha was sick, but she should be fine for awhile. The curse didn't appear to be actively killing her, it was more of a handicap than anything else. She wasn't in danger of death.

Jareth closed his eyes and felt a pleasant weariness creep over him. It had been a long time since he had worked so hard at something, and it felt nice to be tired for a good reason. Despite the dark flutter of fear in his gut over Tabitha's health, he was glad he had something to distract him from his problems for awhile. He was tired of demanding something from life that it simply would not give, and he found that he welcomed a change of pace. With a sigh, he relaxed into the soft cushions of the armchair and drifted into sleep.


End file.
